Grey Hairs sound like a Sub Pop band, or at least what a Sub Pop band used to sound like. Deformed garage rock, the Birthday Party-style gothic post-punk, the sludgier end of metal – the first few bands to be labeled grunge made music that was big, pitch black and ugly, and not as dumb as it looked or sounded. It was a scene that didn’t take itself too seriously, and did its own thing without concerning itself with the conventions of the wider US underground scene.

The songs on ‘Colossal Downer’ are so Seattle it hurts (they have a song called ‘Badmotorfingered’), but in a way that avoids sounding too much like anyone specific. You could compare Grey Hairs to Melvins, Tad, ‘Bleach’-era Nirvana and the U-Men and people would be hard pressed to argue against it, but they are similar to those artists in the same way that those artists are similar to each other.

It’s clearly music that Grey Hairs love – the band sounds like it’s having a great time playing ‘Colossal Downer’. And for those who remember grunge before it hit the big time (or discovered that music later on), it’s great fun as well. --------